Insomnia
by WindowChild
Summary: A nighttime meeting between Percy and Thalia. PercyThalia.


A/N: Takes place between _Sea of Monsters_ and _Titan's Curse_. Intended as PercyThalia or PercyThalia friendship, although there are actually a few hints of Percabeth if you look closely.

Grass tendrils itching at his heels, Percy quietly tiptoed away from his cabin. He was too distracted to sleep properly, and didn't particularly feel like staring at the ceiling.

He vaguely remembered his brief time in the Hermes dorm. It had been so much easier to sleep, knowing that there were people all around him. For some reason, he didn't particularly like the idea of being so isolated from everyone else.

Thalia. His new friend, he supposed. She wasn't so bad, although Percy kind of got what Annabeth had always implied about her. She'd only been back for a few weeks, and already she and Percy had clashed on multiple occasions. It was aggravating, as it lacked the wit and… allure of his usual banter with Annabeth. It was essentially the closest thing to sibling rivalry that he'd ever experienced.

But there she was, thoughts of her provoked by the sight of the Zeus cabin. She was alone too, Percy realized with a start. He wondered if she also found it hard to sleep amongst the silence. They had so much else in common that it wouldn't have shocked him.

He paused upon the steps of the cabin. A choice to make. Knock, at the chance of waking (and annoying) his semi-friend. Or he could turn around and head back to his own cabin, at the high possibility of painful insomnia. Neither option seemed too appealing.

Being Percy, though, he knocked. A strange instinct told him that she was awake, staring at the wall's cracks as he often did. And maybe she wasn't, and maybe she'd be mad, but it was too late for him to care about the risk.

He rapped his knuckles against the wood, feeling embarrassed even as he did so. One of these days he'd have to get around to learning that impulse control thing.

To his surprise, the door opened quickly. He wasn't expecting it, and the creaking of the hinges sent his nerves out of his skin. "Hey," he muttered, regretting his decision to interrupt.

"Hey?" Thalia repeated back, scornfully. "It's three in the morning."

"It is?" Percy replied, sincerely unaware of that fact, "Oh, well, sorry for bothering you." He turned around, feeling ridiculous. He didn't know her after all, and really had no idea what had drawn him there in the first place. "Um, I sleep walk, okay? Sorry…" he called over his shoulder.

"Wait," she said it softly, as if testing him. If he could hear her, he merited not feeling so awkward. He spun on the spot, not going back to the cabin.

"What?" he asked, after a while.

"It's just… you seem awfully lucid for a sleepwalker." He could hear the smile behind the words, and felt his cheeks burn with the rush of blood.

"Yeah," Percy replied, unable to elaborate. "Yeah… I get like that."

"Cool," Thalia said, "I used to, too." It sounded odd, to both of them, and Thalia chuckled uncomfortably. "Never mind. I was trying to make you feel better, but I guess you're on your own."

Percy shrugged, his own lips quivering. "Ah, well. Thanks for trying." He waved to her. "Good night."

"No way," Thalia said, unbelievably sarcastic for three in the morning. "You woke me up. Sorry Percy, now you have to wait until I'm tired enough to go back to sleep."

Percy's mouth dropped slightly. "What? It was an accident."

"Don't really care." Whether it was out of vengeance or a sheer desire not to go back to sleep, she felt her insides inflate when he climbed back up the steps. "There you go. You're really going to have to learn about consequences for your actions, Percy."

He grinned. "Back at you."

She looked a bit miffed. "Why? What have they been telling you?"

"Apparently you're my counterpart."

"Well, we are first cousins. None of that once removed stuff, or anything." It was a strange response, and she seemed to realize it. "You know what… I'll shut up." She laughed. "Sorry, I feel like I have jetlag."

"No need to apologize," Percy replied. "At least I know I'm not alone in… whatever."

"Insomnia?" Thalia said, wisely, "Yeah, no. Don't worry about it. It's pretty common for new kids."

He cocked his head, "Uh Thalia, I've been here for two years."

"Right, sorry." She made a face. "I'm usually not this dumb, you'll see. I guess I'm just not a morning person."

"Morning?"

"Well, yeah, it's three a.m., remember?"

"Oh, heh. I've always thought of that as late-night."

"But it's not, technically," Thalia said.

"Yeah, but the sun's not exactly up, is it?"

Thalia prepared to retort, but then stopped herself. "What did we tangent from, anyway?"

"My inability to sleep," Percy replied, leaning his head against the doorframe.

"Right. Seriously, don't think about it," Thalia said, "I kind of hate it, too. It's so freaking quiet."

He nodded emphatically. "Yup. And I grew up in the city, where there's always noise."

Thalia smiled. "I think I'd like that. Knowing that the world's never totally asleep."

"I love it," Percy confessed. "I mean, my mom always complains about the horns and stuff but –" he hesitated, "I think it has a nice rhythm to it."

"I like rhythm," Thalia replied, "When I was really little, I wanted to be a drummer."

"Really? Annabeth never mentioned that."

"She's not into music," Thalia replied, shrugging. Percy was unsure whether this meant that Annabeth wouldn't have told, or that she didn't know. "Do you like it?" she asked, "Music, I mean. Do you have favorite bands?" Her glance was only peripheral, as if she didn't want to meet his eyes.

"Are you kidding?" Percy asked, "I used to be addicted. Anything alternative, really."

She nodded. "Me too. Although I can go for almost any songs that are off beat."

"Good to know," Percy replied, bobbing his head along. They sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying one another's company. It was enough to know that they were not alone in lonely rooms, waiting for sleep to win them over. And their likeness, it made it all the easier to open up.

Almost simultaneously, they began to feel tired. "I better go," Percy said, locking his thumbs together. "You know, before I humiliate myself even more by passing out, or something."

She grinned. "Yeah, that might not be the best situation. Well, see you tomorrow Percy."

She disappeared into the Zeus cabin, leaving Percy surrounded by the early morning. He was smiling, though. At least now he knew he was not the only one plagued by the endless isolation; he had company, in his nighttime-nowhere, and he could rest easy. Blissful sleep.


End file.
